Perhaps one of the biggest and most welcome surprises since the Kansas City Royals won the 2015 World Series has been Jakob Junis. Kansas City picked the right-handed starting pitcher from Illinois in the 29th round of the 2011 draft, where the Royals gave him a signing bonus more appropriate for the third round. Never on any top prospect list, Junis nevertheless churned his way through the minor leagues, made his big league debut last year, and continues to be impressive.
Case in point: today, the Royals triumphed over the Detroit Tigers 4-2 thanks in large part to some stellar pitching by Junis.